Looking to extend their seventeen-game winning, the 2021 – 2022 NOJHL regular season champions, the west division Soo Thunderbirds headed to Cochrane, Ontario for a one game road trip to face the east division Cochrane Crunch to close out the regular season schedule for both junior ‘A’ franchises on Saturday, April 2nd.

At 3:23 of the second period, Andrew Gibson fires a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle to find the back of Crunch Michael Nickolau’s net over the Cochrane goaltender’s blocker to give the Soo a 1 – 0 lead. Ethan Novello and Russell Oldham had the assists on Gibson’s 21st of the season. Colby Arbour fires his sixth of the season from the right boards over Nickolau’s blocker to give the Soo a 2 – 0 win at 8:04 of the final period. Kyle Trottier and Oldham had the contributors on Arbour’s goal. Cochrane goaltender Michael Nickolau stopped 55 of 57 shots while Thunderbird netminder Noah Metivier earned his sixth shutout of the season in the 2 – 0 win to close out the NOJHL regular season in Cochrane.

The Thunderbirds will wait to meet the winner of the west division play in series between the Blind River Beavers and Soo Eagles while the Crunch pack their bags and wait for the start of the 2022 – 2023 season in September.